Wednesday's Afternoon Update

What you need to know about Florida today

| 4/29/2015

U.S. Economic Growth Nearly Stalls Out

The U.S. economy slowed to a crawl at the start of the year as businesses slashed investment, exports tumbled and consumers showed signs of caution, marking a return to the uneven growth that has been a hallmark of the nearly six-year economic expansion. More at the Wall Street Journal, the AP, and Bloomberg.

Vets tech startups offered a home in Florida

The Cuba Factor
A first person account

Florida Trend reporter Jason Garcia traveled to Cuba in light of President Obama’s decision to normalize relations with the island nation. He found warm welcomes along with constant reminders of legacy ill will between the two countries. Garcia also found hope alive in a budding a crop of entrepreneurs.

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Fort Walton Beach in Florida is hoping to become the veterans' version of Silicon Valley. The city government last week announced plans to team with the entrepreneur consulting firm Venture Hive on a veteran-focused business accelerator program. More at Military Times.

FAA’s Harris contract has potential $238 million value

The Federal Aviation Administration selected Harris Corp. for an eight-year, single-award to design and implement a system that will disseminate real-time, comprehensive weather pictures for aviation users across the National Airspace System. More at Florida Today.

Weston student turns DECA project into business

As a sophomore and member of business club DECA, Armando Martinez had to pick an existing company and create an international business plan for a competition last year. Armando's plan won first place in a statewide DECA contest for the International Business Plan category. More at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

NextEra Energy Q1 profits up as renewable energy projects grow

The Juno Beach-based energy company saw profits increase in the first quarter of 2015 as its subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources continued to add renewable energy projects. More at the South Florida Business Journal.

Music Business
Latin Music’s Changing Business Landscape

Although the bulk of 700 attendees at the Billboard Latin Music Conference, running through Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton Miami Beach, are fluent in Spanish, English and a variety of musical genres, this week, they’ll be focused on learning the rapidly changing language of money in music.